Thill-coupling.



J. HOFSTBTTBR. THILL COUPLING. APPILIOATIION FILED AUG. 26, 1909.

Patented N0vQ8,1910.

FIQ 1.

JACOB HOFSTETTER, OF EVANSTON, ILLINOIS.

THILL-COUPLING.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 8, 1910.

Application filed August 26, 1909. Serial No. 514,678.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Jason Horsrnrrnn, of the city State of Illinois,United States of America, have invented certain new and usefulIniprovements in Thill-Couplings; and I do hereby declare that thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact description of the same.

This invention relates to improvements in thill couplings and its objectis to provide a coupling of simple but strong and substantialconstruction, which will permit the thill to be easily and quicklyremoved and replaced.

A further object is to reduce the wear of parts and provide for a freemovement of the thill in the coupling. In the accompanying drawingsFigure 1 is a top plan View of the invention. Fig. 2 is a sideelevation, showing the axle in section. Fig. 3 is a sectional view online 3-3 of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a sectional view on line H of Fig. 3. Fig.5 is a detail view of one of the bearing blocks.

Referring to the drawings, 6 designates the coupling member which issecured to the axle. This member is in the form of a box or housingwhich has a socket 7 open at the top 1and is provided with a slot 8 inits front Wal Two bearing blocks 9 are seated in the socket 7 and theseblocks have circular open ings 10 to receive trunnions 11 on the drawiron 12 and recesses 13 in front of said openings to accommodate thedraw iron. The top and bottom walls 13 of the recesses are inclined topermit a wide range of move ment for the thill. snugly but removablyfitted in the socket and they take all the wear of the thill and can bereplaced as required. A latch 14 is hinged at 15 on the box and itengages a spring finger 16 which looks the latch against the blocks tohold them in place.

The box is made fast to the axle 17 by a clip 18, the bolt arms 19, 19,of which pass downward through an integral rearward extension 20 on thebox and are secured by nuts 21. The axle has a firm and rigid bearingagainst shoulders 22 on the rear wall of the box (Fig. 1).

My invention is simple in construction, inexpensive to manufacture, andstrong, substantial and durable. It permits the thill to swing freely ina vertical direction and of Evanston, county of Cook, blocks take allthe Wear of the The bearlng blocks are locks the thill securely andsubstantially against sidewise movement. The bearing thill on thecoupling and the novel construction and arrangement of parts reducesthis wear to a minimum.

The box or housing and its extension and also the bearing blocks arepreferably made of malleable iron; the draw iron and its pintles of softsteel, and the clip and its bolts are usually made in one piece by dropforging. The diameter of the axle varies, and therefore I prefer incasting the box or housing to provide an opening or seat for the forwardbolt arm 19, only, the aperture for the rear bolt arm 19 being drilledwhen the coupling is applied, thus enabling it to be adapted to axles ofvarying diameter. This rearward extension is made long enough so thatconsiderable variation is permitted. This extension being made integralwith the box or housing affords a rigid abutment for the nuts and a firmbearing for the coupling upon the axle.

I prefer that the pair of bearing blocks shall snugly fit the interiorof the box or housing and that the trunnions shall be of such length asto closely contact the side walls of the box or housing, thus preventingany play which would cause Wear or movement to produce rattling. 1

It will be obvious that the draft and thrust being usually in ahorizontal plane and the bearing blocks fitting snugly in the box orhousing there is no tendency for the bearing blocks to work up, andtherefore the hinged cover plate may be of thin material since it is notsubjected to strain. The cover plate is employed to prevent accidentaldisplacement of the bearing blocks, as for ex- 9 ample, when thecrossbar of the thill is struck a blow by a kicking horse, and it alsoserves to prevent the entrance of dust and moisture through the top ofthe housing.

To prevent the separation and loss of the parts a binding screw 23 maypass through one of the bearing blocks and be tapped into the other.

While I have described with particularity the various features of myimprovement as combined in a single structure, it will be obvious thatmy invention is not limited to precise structural details, nor to theemployment of all of said novel features in a single structure, sincesome of said features are capable of independent use and also of beingused With other elements of different specific form.

What I claim and desire to secure ters Patent is:

1. In a thill coupling, the combination of a draw-iron having trunnions,a box or housing adapted to be secured to an axle, a pair of bearingblocks seated in and filling the box and provided on their inner facesWith openings for receiving the trunnions on said draw-iron, and bindingmeans for drawing together said blocks in a direction parallel to theaxis of said trunnions and at a right angle with the axis of thedraw-iron, substantially as described.

by Let- 2. In a thill coupling, the combination of a draw-iron havingtrunnions, a box or hous ing adapted to be secured to an axle, a pair ofbearing blocks seated in and filling the box and provided on their innerfaces With openings for receiving the trunnions on said draw-iron, and abinding screw passing through said blocks and adapted to draw the sametogether in a direction parallel to the axis of said trunnions and at aright angle With the axis of the draw-iron, substantially as described.

JACOB HOFSTETTER. \Vitnesses CHARLES C. LINTHIOUM, HENRY H. GRAHAM.

